When Irish Eyes Are Facebooking, They’re Chatting

More than 50% use Facebook Messenger daily

Facebook adoption continues to rise in Ireland. Survey results from Ipsos MRBI revealed that nearly six in 10 consumers in the country used Facebook in November 2013, up slightly from 55% the prior year. Though numbers for Twitter and LinkedIn audiences also climbed, each site claimed just around one-quarter of respondents.

Facebook membership and usage also decreased with age. More than nine in 10 of the 15- to 24-year-olds in the survey said they had a Facebook account, and 82% reported using it daily. Nearly eight in 10 of those ages 25 to 34 had a login for the social network, and three-quarters signed on each day. On the other end of the spectrum, just over one-quarter of adults 55 and older had a Facebook account; however, among those who did, nearly half logged on to the platform daily.

Facebook Messenger was one of the top social messaging platforms in Ireland. Though respondents were most likely to have Skype, cited by 48%, Facebook’s messaging system came in second, with 33%. However, those with a Facebook account were far more likely to use the site for social messaging: More than 50% used the service daily—the No. 1 response. In comparison, just 10% of Skype members said they messaged via the platform each day.

In early 2013, Eurostat reported that 46% of consumers in Ireland used social media in 2012. This was up 84% over 2010—and has likely driven increases in Facebook usage.